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Singapore teachers' characterisation of historical interpretation and enquiry: enhancing pedagogy and pupils' historical understanding
Citation
Tan, H. D. (2005, July). Singapore teachers' characterisation of historical interpretation and enquiry: enhancing pedagogy and pupils' historical understanding (Report No. CRP 7/04 THD). National Institute of Education (Singapore), Centre for Research in Pedagogy and Practice.
Author
Tan, Doreen
Subjects
Abstract
For many years, teachers in Singapore have been teaching history as a subject where there is a body of facts that pupils have to remember and recall during examinations. The majority of these teachers were also taught history in a similar manner. In 1998 syllabus revisions took into account the need to include the process of history. Assessment changed and pupils were expected to answer a compulsory sourcebased question. This revision was introduced to schools for the graduating classes in 2001. The first cohort of pupils to sit for national examinations and to answer compulsory source-based questions was 2002. However, because of the lack of lead time from syllabus implementation to the first national examinations, teachers were trained only in setting source-based examination questions and how to mark source-based questions. It is difficult for these teachers to 'know' how to teach historical understanding skills like interpretation and enquiry without proper training given to them. This paper discusses a continuing study and the initial findings on teacher characterisation of historical interpretation and enquiry, four years after source-based questions were included into the syllabi. Based on a pilot study of the research this paper discusses two teachers' characterisation of historical interpretation and enquiry and talks about the implications on this characterisation in training pupils for historical understanding.
Date Issued
July 2005
Call Number
LB1028.25.S55 C77 2005/07
Description
Note: Restricted to NIE staff
Project
CRP 7/04 THD